Premise: In the tiny Southwestern town of Roswell, N.M., teenager Liz Parker waits tables at her father's Crashdown Cafe. When an argument between customers erupts into violence, she is caught in the crossfire and shot. Max Evans, a fellow classmate at Roswell High, puts aside a lifelong pact of secrecy, and with care to avoid prying eyes, mysteriously heals Liz's gunshot wound with the touch of his hand.

To her astonishment, Liz learns that Max, his sister Isabel Evans and his friend Michael Guerin are surviving descendants from beings aboard that alien craft, which according to much evidence plummeted to the desert near Roswell in 1947. Since emerging from incubation, the three teenagers have grown up quietly among the Roswell residents, experiencing firsthand all the emotions that come with life on Earth and the struggles of adolescence.

Soulful and vulnerable, Max has been secretly infatuated with Liz since childhood, but always remained at a distance. Liz, meanwhile, was forever changed in the instant Max brought her back to life, and the intimacy between the two of them is both frightening and thrilling. Ultimately, his life ? and his heart ? are in her hands. In saving Liz's life, Max not only exposes himself but also Isabel and Michael to the risk of their identities being discovered. Now the extraterrestrial trio must learn to trust Liz and her flighty best friend Maria De Luca in order to stay one step ahead of local officials and the FBI.

Leading the charge is Sheriff Valenti, who is driven by a very personal need to expose the truth about what happened that fateful night in 1947. Putting the teens in heightened danger is their overriding need to discover the truth themselves, about who or what they are, and where their home might be. The revelation that there was one of their own still alive on Earth after the crash gives new hope of gaining understanding. On the outside of this inner circle is Alex Whitman, Liz and Maria's best friend from childhood, who is confused and hurt when he is left out of their secrets for the first time, and Kyle Valenti, Liz's steady boyfriend ? and the sheriff's son.r.